bates



(No` Model.)

E. M.v BATES.

GAR GOUPLING.

Patented MaJ 6, 1884.

.dttorne UNiTnn. STaTns PATnNT Trice.

EDVIN M. BATES, OF SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO JOHN E. ROLL, OF SAME PLACE.

CAR=COUPLNG- SPECIFICATION' forming part of Letters Patent No. 298,272, dated May 6, 1884.

(No model.)

Z0 @ZZ whom t 1n/tty concern:

Be it known that I, EDWIN M. Barns, a citizen of the United States, residing at Springfield, in the county of Sangamon and State of Illinois, have invented a new and useful Oar.- Ooupling, of which the following` is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

This invention has relation to ear-couplings; and it consists in the construction and novel arrangement of parts, as will be hereinafter fully described, and particularly pointed out in the claims appended.-

Figure l is a front elevation of a carhaving my improved coupling attached. Fig. 2 is a view of a portion of a car, showing a bottom view of the couplinghead, its guides,and bearings. Fi g. 3 is a perspective view of the coupling-head and link detached from the car, and Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a modification of the coupling-head and coupling-link.

Referring by letter to the accompanying drawings, a designates the car-body, and b the bumper. c c designate the guide timbers secured to the bottom ofthe car-body, and d and e are the guide and stop plates,the former secured to the under faces of the guide-timbers near their forward ends, and the latter secured to the bottom ofthe carbodyin the space between the guide-timbers well to the rear ends of the guide-timbers. The stop'plate c is perforated and serves as a guide for the round stem of the coupling-head, which stem f is encircled by a coiled spring, j, which bears at one end against A the stop-plate c, and at its forward end against a shoulder, f2, on the coupling-head. The pro,

jecting end of the stem f is provided with a cross-pin, g, which prevents its withdrawal from its seat in the stop-plate e. 'By this construction the coupling-head is given a longitudinal yielding motion in its bearings rearwardly when two coupling-heads c ein contact with any considerable force, and when the contact has been broken between them, the coilspring j" forces the head forward. On the front end, or at a point, h, near the front end of the coupling-head, is an enlargement, which is bored laterally through to form a bearing, 7L', for a short lateral shaft, h?, projecting slightly from the ends of the bore; and to these projecting ends the parallel arms t' t of the coupling-link 2 are rigidly secured. Near the junction ofthe arm t" with the short shaft It is provided a grooved sectorshaped projection, 7c, to the outer terminus of which 55 is secured a short pivoted link, Z, to the outer end of which the lower end of the main operating-champel is secured, and its other end, passing up through a hole in the bumper, is provided with a ring, a. This ring a is connected with the two side chains, o of` running` over pulleys o2 o2, secured to the end of the carbody, and out through eyes or staples p p, at the sides of the end of the car, and are provided with handles p p. The middle chain, q, runs through an eye at the top of the carbody, and is provided with a hand-piece, and I is secured to the top of the car in any suitable manner, so as to be always ready for use.

The upper face of the coupling-head is sloped downward and forward, and is provided with a vertical stud, r, having a rearwardly-turned arm, o, at its upper end, which together form the hook over which the coupling-link operates when turned on its bearings by either the 7 5 side or middle chains. YV hen it is desired tog set thelink, one of the cha-ins is pulled upon and the link is turned up vertically and a little past avertical line and rests against the bumper. The bumper has an inclined recess, s, in its under face directly over the couplinghead; and when two coupling-heads come together with sufficient force they recede within their guides,and the sector-shaped projection, coming in contact with the rear wall of the recess s, forces the coupling-link down forward over the hoolgand thus couples the cars. To uncouple them, it is only necessary to pull upon one of the chains and the link will be raised back and set, and all this can be performed 9o without entering between the cars, and thus endangering life and limb. To couple with the ordinary link-and-pin coupling, the link can be guided over the hook.

In the modification, the coupling-head is pro- 9 5 vided with a laterally-projecting stud, t. The coupling-link is pivoted to eyeboltsuu, screwed into the bumper of the car, and is provided with a depending arm, o,which,whe11 the coupling-head recedes in its guides, is engaged by the laterally-proj eeting stud t and thrown down over the hook on the opposite coupling-head.

It will be seen from the foregoing, taken in connection with the drawings, that the coupling can be operated from either side of the car or from the top of the same, either to couple or nneouple the cars.

The device is cheap and simple. It is durable, and positive in its operation, and is not liable to get out of order.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is-

l. In a car-ooupling, the combination, with the coupling-head supported in guides, and having a spring and stop mechanism, of the pivoted coupling-link, provided on one of its ence of witnesses.

EDWIN M. BATES. Vitnesses:

Trios. T. BROWN, B. H. Glenn, JOSEPH M. GROUT. 

